Monday, March 21, 2011

I purchased a Nook Color at the beginning of the year with some of my Christmas money. One night, while watching Emily at swim practice, a lady walked by and brushed it with her coat, sending it sprawling onto the ground. The ground was only about 18 inches away, mind you. The screen broke and I had to call customer service. Thislink tells the story how only my husband can tell it! ( He writes letters to companies as a hobby and posts them on his link). Please read and enjoy.

One note of interest would be that my conversation with customer service lasted over an hour the last time.
It was also my third call to said customer service!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

I had such a good time on vacation, despite the kids being sick most of the time. Here is an overview of our trip....

Wednesday...Pool day! We had a lazy breakfast and had the kids do a little bit of homework before heading to the pool. It was in the high 80's and sitting with the sun hitting my face was so nice and relaxing! I never realized how stressed I have been until I sat there letting the sun melt it away. We had a nice home cooked dinner afterwards as well, and then played the Wii for awhile with the inlaws. It was a great first day!

Thursday....Grand Canyon day! We took off late since we were trying to find a McD's for some coffee. It was worth it though! We got on the road, taking 17 all the way up to Flagstaff. It was a 4 1/2 hour trip to the Canyon and $25 entrance fee! We parked and walked to the first site. The kids look down and didn't say anything. I was shocked. It wasn't what they thought it would look like. They thought it would just be a black hole in the ground. It took about an hour, of the almost three we were there, for them to really start to get into it. I think the turning point was when we looked through some binoculars and saw a city of tents at the bottom. That was pretty cool. There was snow all around still though, and the strange thing was that it was in the 60's! We were all walking around in jeans and tshirts, while everyone else was in scarves and mittons. It was pretty fuuny. One group asked us where we were from, and when we said Michigan they all said "ooohh". We had a really nice time there and had a peaceful ride home...all 4 1/2 hours of it.

Friday.....This day started with us waking up to the kids throwing up. We still aren't sure if it was an altitude thing, a dehydration thing, or a virus thing. It took up most of the morning and then they were fine. We ended up spending the day at the pool anyway, and they were so much better. That night we had a date night so we went out to eat at a Mexican resteraunt and went to a bar called Bogey's to see my friend Erik Ogden play in his band. They are called "the Lil" Debbie Band" and were a pretty good band! I got to see him play keyboard and trumpet. It had been 17 years since I have seen him and sat all night to close the bar with him. Jerry and I haven't done that in years. It was so much fun!

Saturday....This was our day to travel to Tucson to see my cousin Mark and his family. It was about a 2 1/2 hour drive there and was another beautiful day for driving. The kids all got along great and it was so nice to see Mark and Jill again! Mark and I are both only children and were brought up pretty closely. He really is the closest thing I have to a sibling. I left really wishing we lived closer together.

Sunday....Well, this day started with Chris getting sick again. I really think it had to do with the altitude adjustments and not drinking enough. We went to church without him and Judy stayed home with him. We were scheduled to see a spring training game, the Reds, right after church and was devastated that Chris wouldn't be able to go. We did call home after church and found out he was feeling much better so we swung by and got him. Our seats were great! Two rows behind home plate, right in front of all the scouts. One scout actually put his speed gun over Chris' head! After the game, while walking out, a man stopped us and asked if Chris could have a ball he found on the roof. He handed it to Chris and he was so happy. It ended up being a foul ball that had been hit onto the roof during the game. That night we had dinner with three other priests that Jack knows and had a great night chatting with them.

Monday....Kids were fine today, thank God! We decided to have a leisurely breakfast. Then I went and had lunch with Erik again, and we had a great time! Pool time was next! It was our last day in Arizona and what a beautiful day at that! Stayed there until 5pm, then went to see some F16's land at Luke AFB. Dinner was nice and then packing to go home.

Our plane ride home was flawless and entertaining. I love Southwest! I highly suggest using them the next time you need to fly. Free bags. Unlimited drinks and snacks. Awesome experience.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

So, we leave for Arizona soon and I am just not excited yet. There is still soooo much to do. At least this time the kids are older so they can do alot themselves. That has been nice. I told them that if they didn't pack it, it wouldn't get to Arizona. It seemed to work.

We plan on seeing the Grand Canyon, which will be a great experience for the kids! They are so excited to see it. We plan on seeing some baseball games as well, since it's preseason. And then Tucson to see my cousin, Mark, and his family.

We are staying at my inlaws house out there, so room and board are free. Downside to that is we have to pack a whole suitcase with just sleeping bags, but at least we get free bags on the plane. Go Southwest!!

I'm not sure how much I'll be able to write while I'm gone, so I will sign out today with a smile and a nod. Now off to finish packing! See y'all on the flip side!!! :)